Adjustable razor



May 7, 1963 J. MUROS ADJUSTABLE RAZOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 28, 1960 INVENTOR. JOSEPH MUROS May 7, 1963 J. MUROS ADJUSTABLE RAZOR Filed NOV. 28, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

JOSEPH MUROS 3,088,206 ADJUSTABLE RAZOR Joseph Muros, Newtonville, Mass., assignor to The Gillette Company, Boston, Mass, a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 28, 1950, Set. No. 71,933 8 Claims. c1. 30-605) This invention comprises an improved safety razor of novel construction for efiecting convenient adjustment of the edge exposure of its blade.

I have discovered that desirable and advantageous results may be achieved from simply modifying the shape of the conventional blade-supporting member now manufactured in large quantities for safety razors of well known commercial type and adding only a single spring plate carrying guard flanges arranged to fit cut-away portions of the blade-supporting member. By this novel construction a particularly convenient mechanism is provided for securing an extremely accurate and sensitive adjustment of the edge exposure of the blade.

In cutting away the blade-supporting member corner lugs are formed having fulcrum faces for the guard flanges of the spring plate and also projecting corner guards that insure safety of the user. The conventional blade-supporting member contains a depressed central area that provides exactly the required clearance for the flexing of the spring plate in bringing about the desired adjustment of its guard flanges.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the drawings in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are views in cross sections on an enlarged scale through the head of the razor showing two positions of adjustment,

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of the blade-supporting member, and

FIG. 4 is a corresponding view of the spring plate carrying the guard flanges.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 is shown the head of a razor and only the upper end of the tubular handle which otherwise may be of conventional construction such for example as that of the razor shown in United States Patent 2,748,- 467, June 5, 1956. The tubular handle 10 is spun over at its upper end and thus permanently and positively united to the blade-supporting member 11. This, as best shown in FIG. 3, is provided with a diamond-shaped depressed area 12 in which is formed a hole 13 providing a passage for the handle 10. The member 11 is substantially rectangular in contour and upwardly convex in lateral curvature providing extensive blade clamping surfaces. As herein shown this member is cut away in its opposite marginal edges to form recesses 14 defined by a central lug 15 and corner lugs 16, all of which are machined to present flat inclined fulcrum faces 15' and and 16, respectively, for engaging the guard flanges of the spring plate as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and to provide corner guard projections 17. The member 11 is also notched at both ends to provide clearance notches 18 for portions of the spider which carry the usual cap sections.

The spring plate 20 as shown in FIG. 4 may be punched from sheet Phosphor bronze or other resilient sheet metal and it is shaped to cooperate and interfit with the bladesupporting member 11. To that end it is provided with a large central hole 21 which in the assembled razor is disposed concentrically with the hole 1'3 of the member 11. It is also provided at both marginal edges with an upturned and inwardly inclined guard flange 22. These guard flanges are designed to span the space between the corner projections 17 of the blade-supporting member 11 and to rest initially upon the flat inwardly offset faces 15' and 16' thereof. It will be seen that in effect the guard flanges 22 replace the guard flanges which have been cut away from the blade-supporting member of conventional form. The spring plate 20 is also provided with notches 23 at its opposite ends for affording clearance for the spider.

The upper end of the spindle 24 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and this carries the cross bar 25 of the spider upon which the cap sections 26 are pivotally mounted, all as shown in Patent 2,748,467 above identified. The cap sections of course provide the upper clamping surfaces for the flexible blade 30 and with the guard flanges 22 determine the edge exposure of the blade 30 as indicated by the dot and dash line in FIGS. 1 and 2. Any convenient means may be provided for flexing the spring plate 20 such for example as the tubular nut 27 which is shown as threaded upon the upper end of the handle 10 and arranged to bear upon the center portion of the spring plate 20 through the medium of a washer 28 which may be of Teflon or other substantially frictionless synthetic resin.

In FIG. 1 the spring plate 20 is shown as occupying its initial and normal flat condition and under these conditions the guard flanges 22 lie flat against the fulcrum faces 15 and 16 of the lugs v15 and 16 (FIG. 3) respectively, of the blade-supporting member thus providing maximum edge exposure of the blade and this may be in approximately 0.008". In FIG. 2 the spring plate 20 is shown as flexed upwardly to the limit of its movement as determined by the depressed configuration of the blade-suporting plate 11. This flexing of course is effected by screwing the nut 27 upwardly upon the handle 10, and the result is to rock or tilt the guard flanges 22 outwardly upon the fulcrum shoulders 31 and 32 (FIG. 3) about which they are hooked thereby reduce the edge exposure of the blade to approximately 0.001". The user may secure any intermediate adjustment of the edge exposure by backing olf the nut 27 to the desired position.

It will be apparent that the corner guards formed by the projections 17 project outwardly beyond the flat faces 16' suificiently to reduce the edge exposure of the blade at its ends to as little as 0.001" and so protect the user against nicking his ear or nose. The corners of the blade thus occupy fixed positions in the razor head while the adjustment is effected in the central zone of the blade.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A safety razor comprising a laterally convex bladesupporting member presenting rigid longitudinally spaced fulcrum shoulders, in combination with a spring plate having guard flanges adjustably engaged with said fulcrum shoulders, and means for flexing said plate to vary the effective position of the guard flanges.

2. A safety razor comprising an elongated blade-supporting member having fixed longitudinal fulcrum shoulders at both edges, in combination with a spring plate having marginal guard flanges hooked about said fulcrum shoulders, and adjusting means for engaging the inner portion of the spring plate for flexing it with respect to said fulcrum shoulders.

3. A safety razor comprising means for clamping a flexible blade on both sides including an elongated bladesupporting member having fixed fulcrum shoulders at its corners, in combination with a spring plate having guard flanges spanning the space between said fulcrum shoulders and engaged at their ends by said shoulders, cooperating cap sections, a blade, and an adjusting element for flexing said spring plate to vary the edge exposure of the blade.

4. A safety razor comprising an elongated blade supporting member having at each corner a projecting shoulder cut away to define an inwardly offset fulcrum face and a corner guard, in combination with a spring plate having a continuous guard flange spanning the space between said corner guards and resting upon the said 011 set fulcrum faces, and an adjusting element engaging an inner portion of said spring plate.

5. A safety razor as defined in claim 4, further characterized in that the adjusting element comprises a thread ed rotary nut together with an interposed Washer of hard synthetic resinous material having a low coefiicient of friction.

6. A safety razor comprising an elongated bladesupporting member cut away at its longitudinal edges, in combination with a spring plate carrying marginal angular guard flanges fitting in the. cut away portions of the blade-supporting member, and means for adjustably flexing said spring plate.

7. A safety razor comprising a blade-supporting member having fixed corner shoulders each having a fiat inclined fulcrum face and an outwardly extending guard projection, in combination with a spring plate having an r 4 upstanding guard flange initially engaging said inclined diulcrum face and being confined at its end-s between the guard projections.

8. A safety razor comprising a blade-supporting plate with a downwardly offset wall defining a central depression within marginal fulcrum shoulders, in combination with a spring plate carrying guard flanges engaged with said shoulders and winner portion initially spaced from the offset wall of the blade-supporting member, and an adjustable nut bearing against the spring plate in position to flex it until arrested by contact with said offset wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,599,793 Schieren Sept. 14, 1926 2,048,559 Muros July 21, 1936 2,561,610 Bruneau July 24, 1951 2,676,398 Pattiani Apr. 27, 1954 2,748,467 Shnitzler et al. June 5, 1956 2,848,806 Shnitzler et al Aug. 26, 1958 2,952,911 Shnitzler et a1 Sept. 20, 1960 2,958,128 Narizzano Nov. 1, 1960 

1. A SAFETY RAZOR COMPRISING A LATERALLY CONVEX BLADESUPPORTING MEMBER PRESENTING RIGID LONGITUDINALLY SPACED FULCRUM SHOULDERS, IN COMBINATION WITH A SPRING PLATE HAVING GUARD FLANGES ADJUSTABLY ENGGED WITH SAID FULCRUM SHOULDERS, AND MEANS FOR FLEXING SAID PLATE TO VARY THE EFFECTIVE POSITION OF THE GUARD FLANGES. 